Tube Tap: Tube Tap

Beating the Tube delay blues.

Editor's Pick

Anyone who has ever lived in London knows that London Underground delays are a daily fact of life in the city. But now a new app, TubeTap, lets commuters apply for refunds on delayed journey - automatically.

In theory, Transport for London agrees to refund anyone who is delayed for more than 15 minutes. But few people either know that, or bother to make the claim. Developed by The Swarm and Turned on Digital (makers of The Situationist app), Tube Tap uses Transport for London's open data API, which was made available last September. It automatically identifies a traveler's underground route, calculates the estimated journey time and requests a refund when there is a 15 minute plus delay. The user simply has to give their consent to their data being shared.

We can only hope it prompts London Underground to improve their service, before it's paying out millions more in compensation. In the meantime, we think the New York subway is ripe for a similar service....